> Fred Hersch: Jobim & More

> Early Bird Latin Jazz for Kids: John Santos Sextet

> Tuck & Patti

> Ella Fitzgerald: Tribute to America's First Lady of Song

> Next week at Stanford Jazz Festival

Fred Hersch: Jobim & More
Fred Hersch, piano

Friday, July 9 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $34 general | $20 students

Pianist Fred Hersch is truly a "musician's musician." His esteem among his fellow artists and his influence on the jazz zeitgeist are enormous. Whether he's performing his own original music or interpreting a classic, everything he plays is transformed and enhanced by his unmistakable musical personality.

With technique and versatility seasoned by years of working as a sideman with such luminaries as Art Farmer, Joe Henderson, and Stan Getz, Hersch has emerged in the last few decades as a leader of eclectic and surprising ensembles, a prolific recording artist with over 45 albums, and a composer of consummate skill and adventurous sensibility.

Honored with a 2003 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, an NEA grant and several Grammy nominations, Hersch's influence on the sound of contemporary jazz extends beyond his own playing; he has been a mentor to such influential pianists as Ethan Iverson of the Bad Plus and Brad Mehldau.

His 2009 album Fred Hersch Plays Jobim (which was actually recorded much earlier, but rediscovered in 2008 when Hersch was critically ill - he's since recovered) is what the New York Times has dubbed "one of his deepest records." Through the prism of Hersch's inimitable solo piano style, Jobim's songs sparkle with "a loveliness that reaches down into the heart" (All About Jazz).

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Early Bird Latin Jazz For Kids: John Santos Sextet
Dr. John Calloway, flute; Melecio Magdaluyo, saxophone; Marco Diaz, piano; Saul Sierra, bass; David Flores, drums; John Santos, percussion

Saturday | July 3 | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
10 AM (Kids 5 and under) / 11 AM (Kids 6 and over)
Tickets: $5 advance purchase | $10 at the door | Kids under 18 free!
Ticket purchases are good for one or both shows.

The appeal of the John Santos Sextet's music knows no age restrictions. Young and old alike can't help but respond to the exciting rhythms, traditional instruments, and joyous energy that Santos and his band bring to every performance.

In addition to being an acclaimed bandleader, five-time Grammy nominee, and master percussionist, Santos is a renowned expert on the history of Latin and Afro-Caribbean music and the winner of the 2008 "Best of the Bay" Latin Artist award from the East Bay Express. He is also a dedicated educator, devoted to enriching children's lives and strengthening communities through music. His knowledge is astounding, his enthusiasm is irresistible, and his comfortable rapport with audiences of all kinds makes him an ideal ambassador for Latin jazz.

In this special program for kids and families, he illuminates the music's rich, multicultural traditions and demonstrates an extended family of amazing percussion instruments. With its roots in Africa and the Caribbean and its cosmopolitan spirit, Latin jazz is a wonderful part of the Bay Area's musical heritage. The John Santos Sextet will have listeners of all ages dancing in the aisles, even as they learn!

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Tuck and Patti
Patti Cathcart, vocals; Tuck Andress, guitar

Saturday, July 10 | 8 PM | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $36 general | $22 students | TAKE 5!

Tuck Andress and Patti Cathcart have been making music together for almost 30 years, and their musical empathy and communication are astonishing. Singer Bobby McFerrin calls them "the best duo on the planet," and their previous Stanford Jazz Festival performance in 2006 is still talked about as a high point of the season.

Tuck's guitar and Patti's voice complement each other perfectly. Soul mates in both the musical and literal senses of the phrase, they have been married since 1983. Their signature sound blends jazz, folk, pop, and soul into an inviting and emotionally direct dialect.

A largely self-taught guitarist (and Stanford University attendee), Tuck can evoke the power and complexity of a big band with his guitar, or set a delicate mood with a few carefully chosen notes. Patti's versatile vocal style grew from a childhood immersed in the diverse sounds of the San Francisco music scene. Both are virtuoso performers, capable of astonishing feats of musicianship, but their formidable technique never lapses into self-indulgence. Instead, it serves the music, bringing out each song's beauty and feeling with precision, subtlety, and grace.

With more than a dozen albums to their credit and decades of performances in the Bay Area and internationally, Tuck and Patti have cultivated a loyal fan base and cemented their reputation as one of the Bay Area's musical treasures. It's a privilege to be invited into this family's kitchen for musical comfort food - warm, nourishing, and served with love.

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Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady of Song
Laila Smith, Holly Smolik, Mary Stallings, Kenny Washington, vocals; Noel Jewkes, saxophone; Erik Jekabson, trumpet; Larry Dunlap, piano; Seward McCain, bass; Deszon Claiborne, drums

Sunday July 11 | 2:30 PM | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $32 general | $18 students | TAKE 5!

Inside Jazz: Ella: Simply the Best
Speaker: Alisa Clancy | 1:30 PM (free with concert ticket)

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Ella Fitzgerald set the gold standard for jazz singing, became one of the world's most beloved musicians, and changed American music forever.

Her unmistakable voice was sweet, bell-clear, and powerful enough to soar above a big band. Her pitch was flawless and her timing and communicative ability made her interpretations of the great American songbook definitive. Above all, she was an improviser of the first order. Her brilliant scat singing took harmonic fluency and melodic invention to new heights, radiating joy and beauty and always swinging like mad. As Bing Crosby said, "Man, woman or child, Ella is the greatest of them all."

No jazz singer has ever been able to emulate Ella's one-of-a-kind sound exactly. But it's also true that no vocalist can completely escape her pervasive influence. Mary Stallings, whom the New York Times calls "perhaps the best jazz singer alive today," counts Ella among a broad range of influences. Like Ella, Stallings spent time as a featured singer with the Count Basie band. Vocalist Kenny Washington has his own virtuosic take on vocal improvisation. With a four-octave range and the harmonic facility of a horn player, Washington's scatting carries on Ella's legacy, but filters it through his own unique sensibility.

With musical direction by Larry Dunlap, this special tribute will celebrate Ella's contribution to the world of jazz and the songs she made famous. Also featuring young Workshop vocal program participants Laila Smith and Holly Smolik (Ella recorded her breakthrough hit, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," when she was only 21).

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Next Week at Stanford Jazz Festival

  Order Tickets: stanfordjazz.org / 650 725-ARTS (2787)

Thanks To Our Sponsors
Through cash sponsorships and in-kind donations, our 2010 Festival sponsors help to make the Stanford Jazz Festival and Workshop possible. SJW gratefully acknowledges the following sponsors for their generosity: See’s Candies, Presenting Sponsor of the 2010 Stanford Jazz Festival; Department of Music at Stanford University; KCSM FM 91.1; Palo Alto Weekly; Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel; Stanford Park Hotel; Avid; Vin, Vino, Wine; Gordon Biersch Brewing Company; CoHo; Western Jazz Presenters Network; Stanford Blood Center; Gallien Krueger; Yamaha Drums.